Small landlords selling off isn't a great news after all

I blame “right to buy” in the 80s because the then Tory government forbade councils from using the moneys raised from selling council properties to build more homes for future tenants

Yes theres a couple of landlords i know who have refused to do it. Although who would blame those who agreed, given the huge amounts they are being paid? In my town they have loads of HMOs which are accommodating men, no women or children. Several of these are sited near schools and there is drug taking, fights, prostitution, men leering at schoolgirls. I know those who live in pleasant leafy suburbs will say this is bullshit.
It isnt.
Is everyday life for many residents. Nobody asked for this and nobody wants it

Small landlords have been systematically vilified for years and the regulations made more and more difficult so that they can sell up benefiting large corporations and private equity buyers. I wonder how that’s going to work out for ordinary renters? It’s pure fantasy thinking that first time buyers will be buying up these properties. Who do you think has deeper pockets?

Exactly.

Yes but that will impact me much less. Once I stop receiving rental income (all of which is eaten up by the mortgage, tax and maintenance) I won’t be a higher rate tax payer any longer (part time employment right on the cusp of 40%, higher rate if I was full time). Won’t need to do self assessment and would pay very little tax at all relatively on the savings.

If I don’t need it I’ll likely put it in trust for DD anyway. Quite frankly I’d rather spend it all than give it to the bloody government. It won’t be a huge amount after capital gains paid on it, under £100k.

This was started by the last Tory government. Labour have just followed on from them

No, that isn't what happened. They shelved the abolition of Section 21 until such time as the Courts would be able to handle the increased workload - aka never. The rest of the Rental Reform bill ran out of time, but wasn't that big a change anyway once Section 21 remained in place.

@FancyCatSlave You probably don’t want to hear this but sitting on the money could be the next target. One of the ideas floated was lowering cash ISA allowance.

Yes disgusting isn't it, but some landlords have said no thankfully.

Most of our village is conservation (listed chocolate box thatches from the 1600’s) and owned by the estate. They are not required to have an EPC and although the 2017 MEES is a bit vague and open to interpretation there isn’t any realistic way these houses will be subject to EPC in the future and will still be rentable. Most have had the same tenants in for generations and are in very good condition. A few were sold off now and again (like mine). Being owned by the estate is what has kept the village so beautiful and desirable as the standards are maintained and rents reasonable.

When we put air source heating in ours it caused all sorts of headaches with the grant as no-one was sure if we could have it or not because the house didn’t need an EPC. In the end we had one done although the EPC itself made no sense as it talked about all sorts of improvements needed that just aren’t physically possible with a straw roof and no wall cavity. All absolutely bonkers.

Still we have a very warm cottage now and it’s off the oil! But I do find it hilarious when the solar panel people keep knocking…..no you cannot put them on our roof!

I’m all for improving energy efficiency in homes and transparency so people know what they are renting. People shouldn’t be made to rent homes that can be improved and efficient. But there has to be common sense in conservation areas etc otherwise once again Labour will be fucking over the rural communities, farmers and farm workers because they try to apply city policies to the countryside.

First time buyer

Who is FTB?

Yes I've heard this too.
The bad tenants are spoiling it for the good tenants.
There's more and more people with no respect today for other people's properties and people who think they can live rent free.

Don't blame the landlords. Sell up and bank the money.

There’s information online about the renters right act.

it says landlords will have to accept pets but can require pet insurance for damage to property (frankly sounds like a good idea to me)

also says that they want to end discrimination against children but accept that renting eg a one bed flat to a family of two adults and three kids is overcrowding. So not sure how they’ll actually make that one happen.

the EPC rating thing is not actually part of the renters rights act. The renters rights act says houses need to meet the Decent Homes Standard which was originally written for social housing. They estimate about 20% of private rental properties will not meet it and while some can be upgraded they note some may not be able to.

when it was brought in for social housing some blocks were demolished as they could not be upgraded to meet the standard abs it was cheaper to demolish and rebuild.

think grade 2 listed old house where for planning reasons you can’t do the upgrades.

those houses will have to move to the owner-occupied sector so can’t be rented out (and you can’t demolish something that’s listed).

the EPC thing is that is must be C for new build rentals by 2028 and there’s an aspiration for all rentals by 2030. The U.K. has a LOT of thermally inefficient housing stock (think of all those Victorian terraces) so I suspect the 2030 date will slip. It already has apparently.

My lovely tenant leaves end of November, house will then be sold. I’m specifically doing it now because of my divorce but it’s not part of the settlement so I don’t have to. But I can see the direction of travel and hell will freeze over before I pay NI on the income as well as the 40% tax and massive interest. Fuck that. I also don’t need the additional responsibility with my own life in the toilet. So after 13 years of renting it, I’m out. It was my former home, I’m a fabulous landlord and the tenants have had everything they need, issues resolved immediately etc.

So I will sit on the cash and the tenant and her nice cat will have to hope for the best. And the irony is I will also likely be looking for something to rent myself!! (can’t move back in to my rental as it is nowhere near where I live/work/DD school).

In this case, it was council housing and not private landlords.

@xenobitch
The earlier post which your post was responding to was about landlords being given financial incentives to house asylum seekers. That’s true. Your dad’s anecdote may not have been one of these examples but to claim its ‘shite’ is wrong.

Most asylum seekers (I work with asylum seekers) are housed in properties that cant really make the grade to be rented out. So buildings, whole blocks needing work are ideal.

Two things can be true in your example

However overall, yes landlords are being approached, housing is needed for people newly arrived while claims are assessed. Once they have been assessed, they have to move, they're given a few hours notice, a day or so and have to move out. Then they are homeless.

Ftb are benefiting where I am and I don't think it's a bad thing.

We are selling our BTL property as well and having to evict a tenant on housing benefit.

We were good landlords too. Only the bad landlords who spend nothing on their properties will be left.

Same with tenants. No one will admit to being shite on here.

I don’t think those type of landlords would be on MN tbh . I’m a good landlord always have been .

I own one flat in addition to our family home. It's bringing in very little money and is such a hassle, coupled with constant anti landlord rhetoric and ever rising govt expectations and taxes... I'm close to selling and I'll take the best offer.

It was shit though. People were moved elsewhere as the buildings needed extensive work. It was not to move "boat people in".